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Is there a turbo kit for the ridgeline?

50602 Views 20 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  auditude
Hello everyone,

I am just starting to get interested in doing some work to my ridgeline. What is in the works right now is a lift and maybe a brush guard. I have been toying around with the idea of doing something under the hood, and from what I can tell, there is no dedicated turbocharger for the ridgeline.

My questions are to anyone who has put a turbo on a ridgeline. What turbocharger is most compatible, is there a kit available? If not, what do I need to put a turbo on? Most importantly, how much am I looking to spend on getting this done?

I'm mostly looking to install a turbo for mileage purposes, but I wouldn't mind the performance aspect of it either.

To be clear, I have a 2014 Sport that I am looking to do this on. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
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Simple answer is no. There is really NO off the shelf Turbo kits for the J and C series engines, the Honda's mass market V6 engines.
You can visit Acurazine and see the Turbo TLs there and you can pretty much guess how they approached it.

Garrett turbos are always a safe bet, though BorgWarner, IHI and Mitsubishi are solid and OEM turbo manufacturers.
More than fabricating the Hardware for the Turbo and its placement, software/ECU tuning is the hard one. I live in a state that visually inspects the undercarriage and OBD tests to pass state emission test. So not much can be done without blowing a whistle.
You could, however, save that headache of a turbo and go with an Eaton M90 supercharger with a custom adapter plate. We have more than adequate room on top of the engine/intake plenum and the hood.



with the supercharger you are just tackling the pull and belt drive issues, than the fitment of turbos, oiling, plumbing, exhaust and all that stuff. Of course you still need to run a piggy-back or standalone to run Engine management.

More pictures

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-exhrqfI8...3EEGZ5YLWYhpBLvnT2at4c2H7GVeQCLcB/s1600/2.jpg

http://speedhunters-wp-production.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/IMG_72081.jpg

http://s019.radikal.ru/i642/1303/60/dbc5260efb7b.jpg
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I have a blown Mini. Love the whine. It ma be parasitic vs turbo but response is instantaneous.
With a lot of technical advantages of the supercharging system, parasitic loses are very minimal.

Prank parts sells some odd end parts for the J-series motor >> Prank Parts

same complaints from the Saturn VUE Redline community that had the J35A3 motor in it, and yet someone stuck a blower >> http://images.truckinweb.com/events/0502_nopi_06z+saturn_vue_redline+supercharger_view.jpg

I even looked up the BF250 Honda Marine motor, which is essentially a a J35 block, no one decided to modify them..............
That roots blower is so sexy
As was mentioned, there are very little aftermarket performance parts made specifically for the RL, but there are parts made for the J-series. You really have to know what to look for and how to make it all work. There is one member here named Bob who originally swapped in a 3.7 J-series Acura engine into his RL. He then began the process of putting on an Eaton M90 supercharger. It's been some time since he's updated us here with any progress, but his build is extremely impressive. You can read through the pages of the thread here:

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...132474-bob-s-3-7l-m90-supercharged-build.html
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As was mentioned, there are very little aftermarket performance parts made specifically for the RL, but there are parts made for the J-series. You really have to know what to look for and how to make it all work. There is one member here named Bob who originally swapped in a 3.7 J-series Acura engine into his RL. He then began the process of putting on an Eaton M90 supercharger. It's been some time since he's updated us here with any progress, but his build is extremely impressive. You can read through the pages of the thread here:

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...132474-bob-s-3-7l-m90-supercharged-build.html
Thanks for the link! @IanRTL
Word of caution, with a belt driven supercharger (driving off the crank), there will be an unbalanced rotation of the crank axially. I would recommend speaking with a reputable engine builder and have them gain some knowledge of the J35 and its inherent problems before slapping on a supercharger.

IMO, the engine bay of the Ridgeline just does not have enough room to put a turbo in, off the cyl head, while we try to battle issues associated with superchargers on engines that were not designed from factory for it.
^^ Let's also not forget that the 3.5 in the RL wasn't built with forced induction in mind. It's got a fairly high compression ratio for an N/A engine at 10.5:1 and the internals weren't built to handle boost. Beyond that, the rear diff isn't built to handle much more power than what the stock engine produces. It will be a weak point. There is a reason that Comptech built a prototype SC for the RL back in 2006/7 and never offered a production version. The whispers I heard about it is that they could only safely make 3-4lbs of boost to add about 40-50whp before things started slipping and/or overheating. $4000+ to make a nominal power gain that puts other drivetrain components at risk just wasn't worth the investment.

If I were to ever win the lottery or have a pile of disposable cash, I would find a G1 RL with a solid body, rip out all of the drivetrain components, fab in an LS- or LT-based GM engine (sacrilege, I know), 8-speed auto trans, custom drive shaft and rear end, lowered/adjustable suspension and a few other goodies. Because who else in the world has a RWD 500hp Gen1 Ridgeline?
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^^ If I were to ever win the lottery or have a pile of disposable cash, I would find a G1 RL with a solid body, rip out all of the drivetrain components, fab in an LS- or LT-based GM engine (sacrilege, I know), 8-speed auto trans, custom drive shaft and rear end, lowered/adjustable suspension and a few other goodies. Because who else in the world has a RWD 500hp Gen1 Ridgeline?
I really hope you win the lottery my friend. I wanna see that beast in these pages haha.
I really hope you win the lottery my friend. I wanna see that beast in these pages haha.
Haha! I would truly do it if money were no object. I would probably have $125-150k into the project due to the heaps of custom fab work that would need done, but what an incredible vehicle to have. It would go in my 8-bay stable of go-fast machines (pipe dream, too).
Not to revive an old thread, but came across Gerzy Bear Performance. https://www.facebook.com/GerzyBearPerformance/posts/685799594903813?__tn__=K-R.

With the loss of AC, you get a supercharger setup. The prices they indicate does not include engine work. So add around 5K to 6K for a moderate engine build and this kit on top of that. Then one can start digging into driveline from front to rear.
J35A8 swap, fab a kit (honestly the easy part) add 10lbs, 550hp-ish. Easy lol.

I would love to build a G1 RWD, inverted j35a8 big single turbo/s2k drive train road course truck. $$$
Building a custom super pack for your vehicle is a definitive method to acquire strength. There are various full post-retail units accessible for some makes and models, however sorting out your own super pack lets you custom pick each piece, and furthermore can set aside you cash.
HOW TO BALANCE TIRES AT HOME
What In The World Are You Talking About? 🤨 :coffee:🤨
What In The World Are You Talking About? 🤨 :coffee:🤨
The first part of the response makes sense then it seem as though they suffered from a spam induced tourettes outburst at the end.... o_O
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That roots blower is so sexy
I don't care how old, but, I agree with you're assessment ;)
If you come after me, I will inflict my netherese upon you ;)
I should probably tone down these posts, but I seriously love this Honda engine
Nether side effects are now to be considered bones category achievements !
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